The Price of War
by kenzafrenz
Summary: What would happen if Eren didn't have Titan Powers? Levi and Eren are fighting side by side to reclaim Wall Maria when things take an unexpected turn. Note: It's my first fanfiction, so would you please cut me some slack?


A/N: This is sorta an AU where Eren just doesn't have titan powers but he's just kinda in the Survey Corps with Levi anyway. BTW- I actually don't ship these two. The story came to mind and I just- It had to be done.

They were overpowered. Titans swarmed inside the wall that once was filled with laughing children and their cheerful families. The children used to play tag or talk in the streets socializing only a few years ago, but so much has changed. It had seemed so safe back then. Now, the eerily empty streets were littered with, if any, the cold, dead, and for most, unidentifiable bodies. Blood painted the cream walls of the beaten houses with their windows and rooftops shattered into millions of pieces of debris. The only sounds that were heard were horrifying to even the most experienced soldier on the field. The rumble of the titans running on their feet, rampaging the town terrified everyone. Piercing screams filled the air, some people were begging for their lives while others were screaming because they were already being chewed up mercilessly by giant canines. The mission to reclaim Wall Maria had with no doubt failed. Yet, for some reason, the Survey Corps would not retreat.

Rivaille and Jager were fighting side by side, flying gracefully in the air with their 3D maneuver gear to whatever destination they pleased. Though neither was trying to intentionally follow their comrade, they were found to be in extremely close proximity to the other. Two 13 meter classes ran after Eren, who was hastily trying to find an opening to jump behind them both at the same time, so he could kill them without much difficulty or danger for that matter. Meanwhile a 15 meter class pursued Corporal Levi, who quickly shifted behind it to sever the only vulnerable part of the titan flawlessly. A hunk of steaming flesh flew off the smiling 15 meter class, falling to the ground of the street to disintegrate. The titan fell and slumped against a building before disappearing into nothingness. Eren managed to find the opportunity to slip behind one of the 13 meter classes and carve into its neck. The boiling blood that coated his swords flew off in splatters as he turned around to kill the other with a confident look on his determined face. Victory gleamed in his eyes as he zoomed in on the targeted area.

Just as the blades cut through the hot flesh, killing the titan, another 15 meter class suddenly appeared behind Eren, reaching out to grab his fragile and crushable body. He reacted quickly, shooting the grapple hooks to the safety of a building. As they were about to latch on, the titan grasped them, yanking hard. Eren was pulled forward toward the titan and his huge, murderous hands. They grabbed his body so hard that he thought he would be suffocated to death, or crushed by the intense heat and pressure. Squirming had done nothing for him as the titan loosened his grip, letting him fall until its fingers were holding him up by his arm. Just as all hope was lost and the titan opened his mouth, preparing to bite him in half, Levi swooped out of nowhere and sliced the titan's hand off. He held the boy bridal style with his long legs dangling down towards the titan's mouth as it snapped shut. A searing pain suddenly jolted up his body as he let out a sharp cry of pain. Corporal Levi quickly landed on the nearest intact house, gently laying the fragile body down on the surface of the cold, reddish roof. He let Eren's head down ever so softly, not wanting to hurt the already injured boy. "I'm so sorry."

Eren gave a nervous glance down to his leg shakily, which wasn't there. Blood gushed from his knee and stained the torn, white pants on his thigh. Eren stopped Levi when he went to rip a large portion of his own sleeve off. "C-corporal, don't- don't do it. What's the use? If I even make it to some type of treatment, it'll be too late. Go, go help the o-others," He said with a very wobbly, strained voice, which was obviously in a lot of pain, though it didn't stop him from trying to conceal it. Levi wiped his bloodied hands on the front of his shirt and then tilted Eren's chin up slightly, letting him stare into his own very pained face in it's own way. His eyes got dangerously glossy and he even dared to let a few tears escape to collect and dribble down his chin before wiping the salty water away with his other sleeve. "C-Corporal Levi!?" He yelled in confusion and alarm at the sudden emotional breakdown.

"Idiot. You don't understand, do you? I can't leave you now. I have feelings for you, you stupid idiot! Why'd you have to be so reckless?!" Eren stared into his strangely mysterious, gray eyes and also felt himself starting to tear up at the others words. His vision got partially blurry, due to his own watering eyes and the loss of his blood.

Eren felt the familiar warmth of a blush creep up his cheeks and even go up to lick the tips of his ears as he smiled brokenly. "I-I'm sorry! I really didn't mean to, and I-" He stopped to go into a coughing fit, breathing becoming more shallow and his smile diminishing. "I a-also have feelings for you. Ack!" No longer having the strength to lift his head off the roof, it bounced down and hit the surface hard. His vision then blurred even more until Levi was defined only by the colors of white and green. The rest of his surroundings blended together into nothingness. "It's so c-cold, Corporal, s-so very cold." His words were barely at a whispering level anymore. A single tear escaped and dribbled down to his cheek, where Levi took the pad of his thumb and gently swiped it off his face. "L-Levi, I lo-" The sentence broke off and melancholy silence overtook the two of them. Levi stared directly into Eren's once hopeful, green eyes and saw they looked unfocused, and no longer possessed any life. His body was limp, cold, and pale. The heart wrenching sight of Eren laying dead and bloodied before his very eyes was just too much for him. The man who ceased to show much emotion was now very silently sobbing, this time not bothering to wipe away the salty water that collected and dripped down his chin. The person who had barged into his cold heart and make him completely head over heels for him was gone. He bent down to kiss the now lifeless boy's forehead for the first and last time.

"Eren, I love you too," He whispered sweetly into the others ear. He dared to stay next to him for a few more moments before turning his attention toward the titan that had changed the young boy's fate. The burning passion of revenge completely clouded his thoughts as he charged at the smiling bastard, who had already regained its hand. The satisfactory sound of the sharp swords cutting through flesh rang in the air. Levi knew though, that it was only a matter of time before he too was overwhelmed despite the skill he possessed. Now he could only hope for a retreat signal to save his, and a few others, lives. At this rapid rate everyone would be dead very quickly. Soon enough though, a smoke signal was sent up into the air to issue their retreat out of the wall's barriers- the titans' territory. Levi let his mind wander to think about how many people he knew would be dead. The mission had been a complete disaster.

Rivaille sat at the dull wooden table alone, his foot tapping on the dusty floor softly. His head bowed low in the sorrows of his own thoughts, eyebrows furrowed deeply and eyes staring at nothing in particular but straight down. The cold, stale bread had been sitting there the past ten minutes, picked at, but not eaten. The single thought of Eren alone drove his appetite away, and staring at the food almost made him sick. Hands clenched and unclenched at the overwhelming guilty feeling that Eren's death was his fault, and his alone. "I could've saved him," he thought. "His death shouldn't have happened." Immediately they completely balled into fists and slammed onto the table, shaking the fragile plate that settled back down with a clatter. "Dammit, it's been four days!" Levi silently scolded himself to let his mind wander to such foreign thoughts again. He knew he needed to get his mind off of what happened in the past, but he couldn't push his passing away. "I can't afford to think like this anymore," He finally said out loud while trying to choke back a sob. "Why am I such a wreak?" Levi asked himself in his head, sighing tiredly.

Braun happened to walk by when Levi had said some questionable words and stopped his walking, wondering if he had heard correctly. He curiously peeked inside the dining hall to see what was happening. He widened his eyes as he took in the sight of Corporal Levi with his head down on the table, slouching his shoulders, and silently sobbing into his sleeve. His food was kept untouched, pushed to the other end of the table from where Levi sat. Reiner thought about the loss of the mission, and how it affected the few remaining soldiers. Some were so depressed by the outstanding number of casualties that they, even though they well knew it was a miracle death's grasp had missed them, killed themselves with their own weapons. Many had become detached from the world around them, giving no social contact to anybody, defiantly ignoring orders from their squad. There were also many other levels off how people dealt with their pain, some overworking to keep their mind off such a horrid topic, or others trying to pretend they had no knowledge of it. He worried for Levi, who had already seen so much death and slaughtering before his very own eyes. He leaned against the door frame and barely audibly called out Levi's name.

"How long were you there?" Rivaille questioned coldly, but strangely very softly. He turned his head to meet the others eyes and straightened up, no longer slouching. Reiner chose to remain quiet as he walked toward the table Levi was currently sitting at, and sat down next to him. The silence between them grew and Levi grew more and more impatient, expecting a response.

He was about to ask again with a more firm tone of voice when a slightly saddened reply crossed his ears. "Long enough," Reiner said, resting his head on his slightly scarred palms. Levi broke their eye contact and looked down at his own hands, embarrassed at what the other most likely unintentionally heard. "Who knew it would get to you out of all people?"

"It's not that simple," He insisted, still keeping his voice ominously quiet. His eyes diverted their attention from his thumbs, this time looking straight at Reiner with a hurt look on his face. "I just, I need some time to think is all," Rivaille said, sighing. The emotion had gotten to everybody that was spared, but Rivaille seemed to be hit the hardest. He had so much emotion built up inside, so much hidden and kept to the back of his mind, that it was all let out at once when Eren died.

"No. No, you need someone to talk to. I know the mission was a complete failure, and I'm so sorry. You must've lost some close friends to be so depressed about it," Reiner said, looking at Levi's expression on his face, which had changed to resemble complete shock. Images and memories flashed back and forth and flooded his mind as he remembered Eren. The thought of seeing the others leg being torn off and how the blood spilled everywhere sickened him endlessly. He vividly remembered the sad look on Eren's face as he tried to avow his love to him but failed, his body going limp. It was an unnecessary and completely avoidable death of a close friend, or maybe even lover. The thoughts overwhelmed Levi as he buried his face in his already soaked sleeve. Reiner could not see his weakness at a time like this.

"D-dammit! Don't remind me!" He choked on his words as he stressed to get them out. Reiner raised his hand to pat Levi's shoulder reassuringly, trying to soothe him.

"Look at me, Corporal. Listen to me. You, Eren, Eld, Gunther, Oluo, Petra, Mikasa, and I will avenge their deaths and make sure they didn't die in vain. We'll make those titans pay for who they took!" His eyes shown in pure determination, foreseeing the future of success. Corporal Rivaille visibly recoiled at his encouraging words. The realization then dawned on him that he didn't know Eren was indeed dead.

"Reiner, didn't anyone tell you? Eren Jaeger is...is dead," Levi stated with slight hesitation. He never actually confirmed the others death out loud, so hearing the words roll off his own tongue sent him into deeper thought and sadness. His voice was relatively calm, showing little emotion, but his face betrayed him, unable to keep the constantly plain features that others saw. His eyes were becoming more bloodshot and irritated, watering once again with tear streaked cheeks.

Reiner was quiet for a few minutes, his brain processing and not quite being able to grasp the disturbing information he was bluntly told. When he finally did speak, his voice was so quiet it was almost didn't carry to the Corporal's ears. "How did he-"

"He bled to death. A 15 meter class titan had bitten his leg off and damaged a major artery during my attempt to save him. Oh god, I saw the life leave his eyes. It- it was just," He trailed off, unable to finish his explanation. Just as Braun was about to speak, a horrifyingly pained scream interrupted him. The two immediately ran outside to the source, seeing Petra lying in a pool of her own red blood. Levi frantically pushed his way through the crowd that gathered around her and rushed to her side. Reiner stopped at the front of the crowd as he gasped and his eyes widened. His legs shook and refused to move, and he almost collapsed from seeing the state of the girl in front of him. Corporal Levi fell to his knees and clasped his squad member's cold, bloodied hand. He squeezed Petra's pale fingers and she just barely squeezed back. Her breaths were ragged and shallow, unable to get an adequate amount of air to her punctured lungs as she coughed and blood had trickled down to her chin. "N-no. Not you too!" His voice wavered, seeing the slashes in the girl's chest. Petra had been intentionally murdered by someone in the Survey Corps.

"Corporal L-Levi, forgive me," She hoarsely wheezed one last time, her head slumping to one side.

"Petra! Please answer me! D-don't leave us," He exclaimed in a state of shock. He was shivering uncontrollably at the familiar scene that was unraveling before his very eyes. Tears leaked down his chin and fell on her pale face and bloodied uniform. He sniffled and closed her eyes gently with his two fingers. Petra lay on the cold ground dead, but remarkably almost looked peaceful as if she were in an unshakable sleep. "She's dead," Levi weakly announced to the terrified crowd that swarmed the crime scene. Gasps and cries of rage could be heard ricocheting around him from all directions. Reiner had walked up to Levi's bent down form and gently touched his shoulder, whispering something he had heard enough of.

"I'm so sorry."

A/N: Yeah, everyone's kinda OOC in this, I know. Though I guess it was mostly on an intentional level. And yeah, I know how Petra really dies along with the Levi Squad. *Lol spoiler* I just thought it would be fun to mess with the plot!


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